Siditty Mom

"Is the Baby Here Yet?"

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:37:00 +0000

These five words have become the bane of my existence. Every person who calls me, texts me, emails me, or instant messages me asking me these five words INSTANTLY goes on my hit list.

I am one day shy of being a week overdue and the questioning is getting a little old and annoying. I love our friends dearly and appreciate their concern, but for the love of God, if they do not stop CALLING and texting me for an update, I am going to lose it. We stopped taking calls and don't even return texts anymore. When we did that, we started getting the "We haven't heard back from you and now we're concerned./We can't get a hold of you." texts. Do people honestly think I would bring life into the world (through the birth canal, no less) and NOT tell them? Seriously. Do the math, my friends. No update = no baby. End of story. Stop calling to discuss the status of my cervix. I even turned off my Facebook wall for the time being.

Since surpassing my due date, the last few days alone with my hubby have been gloriously peaceful. It's been really nice to just tune the rest of the world out. He officially went on paternity leave as of my due date and we've been having a blast together just enjoying each other's company and perhaps the last few days as a family of "two." Well, "three" if you include my dog. This time is actually going to be one of the things I look back on rather fondly when I reminisce about this pregnancy. With the exception of our nagging friends.

I've had two bouts with a really bad cold the last few weeks (as in I was sick, got well and then got sick AGAIN), so I asked the baby NOT to come on the due date. I spent my due date hacking up a lung and struggling to even breathe through my nose. Not ideal for childbirth. I kid you not, I thought I was going to DIE. One night I was so miserable, I woke up Andre at 4am and made him drive me to the nearest drugstore for some Benadryl to KNOCK ME THE HECK OUT. Well, actually, I was planning on driving myself but for safety's sake, he wasn't about to let his 9+ month pregnant wife go out gallivanting into the night for a narcotics run. Though let's be honest -- I wanna know who exactly would've had the guts to dare MESS with me in the state I was in.

(If there's one thing I've learned over the last few weeks it's that the mental state of a 9 month pregnant woman can perhaps be most appropriately likened to that of a mass murderer. Only pregnant women are WAY more dangerous.)

The last few days I've finally been feeling like myself again and I calmly and casually informed "Jethro" that he can now find the exit. QUICKLY. My family started flying in today and the rest will be here tomorrow. Not sure how many more days I can endure being "watched" for labor.

Jethro, please come rescue your mama from all these people and their torture. Quickly!

Weekly Check-In: Week 40

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Remember that scene in "The Lion King" where Rafiki goes over to the newly born, Simba and declares "It is time!" Yeah, where is Rafiki when I need him? Baby boy Jethro, it is time! Get thee out! I wanted to get to my due date so I could you know, finish re-tiling the kitchen. I was due on Friday; we finished the project on Saturday. Jethro, where are you?

I've decided however, that I quite like this position of power. While clearly Jethro is running this show, my husband and I get to wield the power of knowing whether or not I am in labor. Bwaa haaa haaa ::insert evil laugh:::. Do you know how much fun it is to see the phone ringing, look at the caller ID and NOT answer it? TOO much fun. I should have a baby (or not have a baby) more often!! I've been ignoring select Facebook messages, IMs, emails, chats, and everything I possibly can from people who are nagging me about my child's whereabouts. I feel this is the only possible way to make this final stretch as entertaining as possible: drive my friends and family NUTS.

I am a bad, bad girl. Okay, on with the stats! Oh how I wish I could show you a picture of my belly. Hubs says no. After baby is here I will retroactively add belly shots...lol

How far along?: 40 weeks, 2 days. Can't get much more pregnant. Okay baby, time to come out.

Total weight gain: 13lbs! I gained 3 lbs in one week! YES! Maybe I am not a freak of nature after all. There is hope.

How big is baby?: Growth ultrasound measurements last week estimated him to be 7 lbs 11 oz. That seems like it would be anatomically impossible given my weight gain, so I'm gonna guess he's more around 6.5-7 lbs.

Maternity clothes?: Now that we're in eviction status mode, I've essentially resigned myself to rockin' yoga pants every day. They are so comfy. *Note, I don't do yoga...I just wear the pants. I am poser.

Stretch marks?: No siree Bob

Sleep?: Laughable. Let's just say last night my hubby and I made a 4am run to the drugstore for some Benadryl! We also went househunting while we were out. Pretty funny doing that at 4am.

Best moment this week?: Growth ultrasound. Was so fun to see our baby boy's face smashed against the bottom of my uterus! Poor kiddo. Cannot wait to meet him!

Food cravings?: Nope. Food in general works for me.

Labor signs?: Having lots of contractions at night. I am dialated and effaced, but not giving the numbers because I WIELD THE POWA!!!

Belly button in or out?: It's too far out.

What I miss: Wearing a belt. Personal privacy. A day doesn't go by that someone, whether known or unknown asked me about the status of my cervix. Excuuuse me, do I even KNOW YOU?!?? You do realize the body part you just asked me about is in my VAGINA, right? Just checking.

What I'm looking forward to: Preferably, having this baby!

Weekly Wisdom: I got nothin' for ya...lol

Milestone: Still rockin' heels after being 40 weeks. Yeah baby...

I Ain't No Bag Lady

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:33:00 +0000

My love of high heels notwithstanding, I am not a girlie girl. I only dress like one and play one on tv. One of the female obsessions I do not understand is that with handbags. Now don't get me wrong, I loves me a good handbag and I've purchased my fair share of Coach, Cole Haan, and LV accessories, but I absolutely DETEST carrying a purse. It drives me up. the. wall. I don't like having excess baggage. I don't like carrying more stuff than I have to. I don't like having to be responsible for its whereabouts. I hate having to ensure the darn thing matches my outfit. I hate changing purses for the day and forgetting my lipgloss or my wallet or my breathmints or some other important thing in my other purse. It's just a pain. Add this to my inability to pack lightly and Houston, we have a problem. I've never carried a small purse in my life. I just can't do it. Most days my handbag works similarly to Mary Poppins' carpet bag. I carry my LIFE in that thing.

With my loathe of purses, I have grown pretty particular about which ones I WILL carry. So you can imagine about how much the idea of carrying a diaper bag thrills me. Or not. Oh yay! Another bag I get to schlep around. Can't wait!

There was a day when you heard the words "diaper bag" and the image conjured up looked a little something like these fine specimens:
Someone, shoot me now. I am so glad I am becoming a mommy in the 21st century. Though believe it or not, these two bags are for sale RIGHT NOW in stores. Gross. To each their own though. In my case, my diaper bag is likely going to have a dual function as my purse and therefore, I'm not about to prance around the city of Seattle toting Winnie-the-Pooh on my shoulder. From now on let us adopt a motto: Friends don't let friends wear Winnie the Pooh.

Some moms just opt for a simple backpack. Some get a suped up version of a regular tote or bag. There are a lot of really cute styles out there right now in all different price ranges. Even Target sells a line of Skip Hop bags for under 30 bucks that are super duper cute. I'm slightly siditty, so I ended up going with a Kate Spade diaper bag. I adore the simplicity of her bags. I also like their classic styling.

Here is my lovely bag:
It's the Kate Spade Messenger Baby Bag in the Noel Dot Jacquard fabric. Has a waterproof interior, lots of pockets inside and can be worn hanging from my shoulder or slung around my body so I can be hands free. Best of all, it can be worn with brown AND black and pretty much goes with anything. I heart it. It's my new special friend.

Here are some other more "hip" bag styles that caught my attention:

Love the "urban" looks from the folks at SkipHop

This is the "Via Messenger Style Bag" - $79 (comes in 5 colors)
Also love this "Dash Deluxe Edition" for $58. I think it could work well for men or women. (Comes in like 12 different prints)Another Kate Spade the Classic Noel Medium Baby Bag - (comes in black or brown). Side note: I accidentally received this bag via mail and got a chance to try out....super cute!! But I prefer the messenger style that CLOSES since I lean and bend over all the time)

The Mia Bossi "Maria" diaper bag. We won't discuss the price here...ahem:
as modeled by Jenifer Hudson:

There are so many more great designs and designers out there that have put a spin on the hideous diaper bag. Too many to name. There's also the option of just taking a normal purse, bag, or messenger and turning it into a diaper bag. Sky's the limit. Down with pooh!

What Pregnancy is Not

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

I never thought I'd be one of those "Oh I LOVED pregnancy" kinda girls, but I think I am. We'll see. It's not over yet. Heh.

Since I've recently started having contractions, I figured I might as well gather my thoughts on this whole adventure while I still have a clear conscience, before my bajingo has been stretched well beyond what God intended before "the fall of man" (and while I still actually like pregnancy). Perhaps the first place to start when assessing my whole view on the miracle of motherhood is to express how truly grateful and blessed I feel to have carried this baby full term. I will say more on this later, but I feel now more than ever immense pain and trial that comes to women who have suffered a miscarriage or have trouble conceiving a child. The former, I've actually experienced, but my heart goes out to the latter. Pregnancy really is one of those transcendent human experiences that confirms to you in every way that there is a God and everything he does is a miracle.

To many people, pregnancy is many things. There is one camp that doesn't enjoying being pregnant. And I totally respect that camp. To many it's painful, awful, miserable, uncomfortable, long, and tiring. That experience is completely valid. If you were ralphing up your lunch every day for the entire first trimester, I wouldn't look so fondly on pregnancy either. I however, have had the distinct privilege of being in an entirely different camp. For me pregnancy was fun, adventurous, amazing, exciting, intense, nerve-wracking, awe-inspiring and ultimately, downright pleasant. Who knew?

I've been known to be a pretty dogmatic person, so when I make up my mind about something, I go full throttle. When I found out I was pregnant in early February, I made a statement that I've carried with me these past 9 months, "I refuse to be miserable so I'm gonna rock this pregnancy gig in style." The power of just saying that has had an amazing effect on my pregnancy. It's also important to note that YEARS prior to even being married, I used to pray to God that my pregnancies would be enjoyable. If He wanted me to have any more than ONE child, I needed to NOT have morning sickness. Because this girl right here does NOT enjoy vomiting. Not one single bit. Can't even remember the last time I did. Maybe when I was seven? Yeah, you see how serious I am about it. Did you know you can make pacts with God? I sure did.

One of my biggest peeves throughout this pregnancy has been all the women of yore and present, who in their best intentions tried to warn me of how horrible pregnancy was going to be. This advice was usually marked by three words that have now become the bane of my existence: "JUST YOU WAIT." In my first trimester, the conversation usually went like this:

Random lady: How are you feeling?
Me: I feel great! Just a little sleepy.
Random lady: Just you wait until the baby comes!
Random lady: Any morning sickness yet?
Me: No and I don't plan on it.
Random lady: Oh just you wait. It'll come.

Gee thanks for that positive encouragement. These types of exchanges went on throughout my pregnancy. Every time I celebrated a victory, the peanut gallery was there telling my how it was about to get worse. But the thing is, it never did. If there's one thing I'm going to purpose in my heart not to ever ever do, it's project my own experience with pregnancy onto another woman. I think as women, we do this a lot in general. We often relate to other people based on the context of our own experience. So our own experience with things like marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, child rearing, etc. can often color how we speak to other people about it.

My goal even post-baby is to speak as positively as possible about pregnancy. If some woman wants a commisseration (made that word up) buddy, I'll let her be the one to initiate that. I'd be happy to go into detail about some days I literally feel like my uterine walls are closing in on me, or how annoying it is to answer the questions "When are you due?" and "Do you know what you're having?" about 80 times a day, but only if she brings it up first.

I think the important thing to remember about pregnancy is there is no universal experience. Every woman is different and we need to allow women to experience it for what it is -- not what everyone has told them it will be. Believe it or not, women got by just fine well before "What to Expect When You're Expecting" ever was published.

So without further adieu, the following is a list of things I did NOT experience during this pregnancy:

Morning sickness
Nausea
Vomiting
Swelling
Back aches
Cravings (beyond my normal lack of self control)
Waddling
Sciatica
Extreme weight gain (as in beyond the doctor recommended)
Heartburn
Constipation
Water retention

Here are a list of a few things I did experience during pregnancy:

Extreme fatigue -- as in knock me out until next week, please during the first trimester
Frequent urination - I think I've just about pee'd as much as any human being can ever pee
Enhanced sense of smell
Shortness of breath
Charlie Horses (that hurt like the dickens)
Headaches
Anemia

This has been my experience and it's been glorious! I truly have great things to say about pregnancy. It hasn't been all sunshine. I'll expound on that in the next few posts. But over all, it's been a blast. By far the coolest has been the third trimester and feeling (and seeing) the twisting and turning of this little alien in my belly. He is just the best and I can't wait to meet him. Preferably sooner than later, please.

Don't get me wrong though, I can't wait to NOT be pregnant. :-)

Just Don't Call Me Chuck

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0000

I am a girl who loves my pumps. At approximately 5'2", admittedly, I need the height. I told my aunt I was going to wear high heels as long as my pregnancy would allow and at 38 weeks, I am proud to report the high heels are still in full effect! Not on a daily basis of course, but when going out, church, parties, etc., I most definitely rock my 4" heels. I'm weird like that.

While I am traditionally known to ALWAYS be wearing some type of platform, heel, or wedge, my other love in life are my Converse Chuck Taylors or "Chuck T's" as we affectionately call them in this house. They are literally, the consummate unisex tennis shoe. They can be dressed up or dressed down and can make any outfit look downright adorable. In my closet I own about six pairs which isn't nearly enough. I need them in every color. They are my go to shoe when I dress down. Quite simply, they rock. Apparently, they also mark me as a West coaster because once I was in the airport heading home from Orlando and heard someone say, "Oh she must be from California. I haven't seen anyone where Chuck Taylors in a long time." I resent being called a Californian, but happy to rep for the Westside!

So imagine my glee when someone presented me with these adorable infant Chuck T's as a baby shower gift! If it weren't for the lack of arch support, I swear I'd dress little Jethro in these every single day if I could! Let us pause for a moment and drink in the cuteness. I have this theory that everything is cute when it's little...well, almost everything ;-)

In addition to this most fabulous gift I've been given, I've already gone on a spree of stocking up on different sizes and colors. They even come in newborn sizes! So precious. I love the colors they come in for little girls: pink, purple, yellow, yummy.

Weekly Check-In: Week 38

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:26:00 +0000

Alright folks, home stretch. My husband is still the picture nazi so I tempt you once again with an edited pic from my maternity shoot. Because you all wanted to look at a picture of my JEANS, right? Yeah that's what I thought. Though if I may toot my own horn, please note that in my photo shoot at 35.5 weeks, I managed to squeeze into a pair of PRE-pregnancy jeans. Holla! "Squeeze" is the operative word, however. That type of behavior was truly short lived. These days my belly is preventing such reckless behavior.
How far along?: 38 weeks, 4 days (almost 39 weeks) - I am FULL TERM! How on earth did I arrive here? Seriously, the time has FLOWN.

Total weight gain: 10lbs. Trust me. You're just as perplexed as I am. All the books tell me this isn't enough weight to gain, but when you are already eating your WEIGHT in carbs and protein, is there really much else you can do? The doc, the midwife, everyone seems to be fine with it. They say I am just literally ALL baby.

How big is baby?: Should be around 6.5 lbs.

Maternity clothes?: Still no maternity shirts. Pants in general are a crapshoot right now. I will only wear demi panel maternity pants. Everything else involves too much fabric or keeps falling down. Believe it or not, there are some maternity clothes I "pre-bought" that are still too big for me. Ugh. Wish there was a way to return them. Ebay, I guess. Lesson to all: buy as you have need; don't buy in expectation.

Stretch marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: Fleeting now that I have a COLD, ugh.

Best moment this week?: Going in for a cephalic version (last week) and finding out the baby is now HEAD DOWN. Thank you, Jesus. This chick right here was not interested in having a c-section at ALL.

Food cravings?: Nope. Food in general works for me.

Labor signs?: Having lots of contractions. Minor ones with no real patterns. I mostly just feel crampy when it happens. Hoping to go the full 40 weeks though! I need the time!

Belly button in or out?: It's too far out.

What I miss: My regular wardrobe.

What I'm looking forward to: My birthday is tomorrow and I'm getting a new car! (grrr typed this 4 days ago when this applied. My birthday has now passed...but I do have a new car :-)

Weekly Wisdom: There's not much that can't be solved by going out and treating yourself to a mani and pedi. Seriously, if you're having an "off" day, when all else fails, pamper!

Milestone: Full term! Also, Jethro's nursery furniture was finally delivered. Pretty quick considering I ordered it LAST WEEK (procrastination much? um yeah)

Some Lovely Nursery Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000

One of these days I'll get around to updating about our nursery decor. In the meantime, I scoped these two variations on a grey backdrop for a nursery palette. Love LOVE what designer Kenneth Brown has done here. He's taken an otherwise dreary and muted color and made it fabulous. I love grey walls done correctly. One of the accent walls in my living room is grey :-)

(Photos via Ohdeedoh.com click to enlarge)

If you're going to do pink, I love pairing it with an unlikely color. It takes the edge off a bit. Our wedding colors were light pink and chocolate brown. I love pink, but I think it works best when used as an accent or complementary color and not THE main color.

Love LOVE this. I actually think this could be a very gender neutral decor theme. I'd like to see yellow make a comeback. Love the white vinyl wall decals and how they pop against the grey wall. Very nicely done. This image (via ohdeedoh) was from a nursery nook within another room. Super creative way to have a nursery within a master bedroom.

Customized Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Despite what this blog may lead you to believe, I don't spend all my days shopping. I have some pregnancy commentary coming very shortly. In particular I'd like to finally post my Treatise on Stroller Buying and also discuss why taking a hospital tour when you are closing in on three weeks from due date is a very very bad idea. Yeah, we did that last night. Craziness.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share this recent purchase I'm super excited about. I had a $25 Pottery Barn gift card burning a hole in my desk drawer. I hate hate not to use gift cards because having worked in Corporate America, I know for a fact that one of the biggest moneymakers for any retail organization are UNUSED gift cards. Unfortunately, when it comes to mass produced home decor, I'm more of a Crate & Barrel type of girl.

Sidenote: Anybody remember that episode of friends where Rachel bought the apothecary table from Pottery Barn and tried to pass it off as a vintage flea market find because her roommate, Phoebe was all "I hate Pottery Barn"? Yeah, I'm kind of like Phoebe in that regard. Love the stuff at Pottery Barn. Don't love that I can see it in pretty much any home in suburban Seattle.

Additionally, anyone who's ever stepped foot in a Pottery Barn knows that if you walk in with a $25 gift card and intend to spend only that gift card, the only thing you're coming out with is a candle. Not TWO candles, mind you. Just ONE. And it might not even be a very tall candle but instead one of those very short, stumpy ones that burn out in a matter of weeks. Pottery Barn, you are killing me with your mark ups.

So I decided to put that gift card to good use via Pottery Barn Kids (whose furniture may cost you your first born child, but is pretty darn cute!). Interestingly enough, many home/furniture companies have a "kids" department. Pottery Barn Kids is its own freestanding store, but did you know Restoration Hardware sells baby and kiddie wares too? No lie. They can only be found online. Check out the website: http://www.rhbabyandchild.com. Restoration Hardware Baby & Child sells everything from cribs, to kids beds, to clothing, towels, bedding, etc. All just for babies and kids.

Utilizing my snazzy gift card I was able to snag this adorable-wouldn't-have-normally-spent-this much-on-something-to-dry-my-kid's-butt-unless-I-had-a-gift card) personalized hooded hooded bath wrap with matching wash cloth! All to the tune of $29 + $6 for embroidery and free shipping! So I went a little over my gift card. Shut up.
It comes in three colors: blue, pink, and green. Can you guess what color I bought? Green of course (as pictured above)! It's hard to see in this picture, but the hood of the towel has the baby's name embroidered on it! Though we haven't divulged our baby's name yet to anyone (not even our parents), some unsuspecting fulfillment specialist at the Pottery Barn Kids factory knows what it is ;-)

I've heard from more than a few people that the Pottery Barn Kids towels are super high plush quality and last a long time and grow with your child into toddlerhood. I returned a few of the bath towels I had from Babies 'R' ~~Moneymakers~~ Us because they pretty much looked like they could barely hold up after 2-3 washes. Since I'm a quality person, I can't wait to partake of this towel's plushness and maybe purchase a few more like it. Truth be told, I'm kind of a linens snob myself. Not sure why I'd try to go cheap on my baby. Oh yeah, now I know why, because of the ubiquitous presence of poop. Duh.

PBKids has a few other adorable choices:

Gingham Hooded Towel - On Sale for $20.00
(Almost bought this one but it's bloody back-ordered until mid-November!??! Is there a national bathing convention no one told me about?)

Nursery Farm Bath Wraps - $24.00

Critter Nursery Wraps - $30.00 + free shipping
(oh and how cute is the name 'Avery?' VERY cute)

Cozy Critter Nursery Wraps - On sale $19.99

While we're on the topic of Pottery Barn Kids' bath towels, please observe all the pictures I posted and tell me what do you see? The SAME THREE COLORS. In pastel. Over and over and over again. Does no one have the audacity to make a burnt orange bath towel? Sheesh. Do you see what is annoying about shopping for babies? Vomiticious pastel colors everywhere you look! Pastels are wonderful, but in moderation people. Moderation.

I love that you can customize, monogram, and embroider names on most of the stuff PBK sells. So if you too have a gift card itching to be used, or just a penchant for plush towels, shop on! These would make a GREAT gift for someone (in addition to buying something off their baby registry, ahem...) :-)

Since Fall is Upon Us

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:53:00 +0000

I had to snag this knit romper on sale at the Gap Outlet for $19.99. Don't you just love yummy fall colors? Makes me want to do a photo shoot. Or at least eat an apple pie. Okay, seriously, I'm done. No more clothes posting for awhile for me. Scout's honor.

In other news, we have our last birthing class today and hospital tour as well. Praying I don't hear anyone screaming in the delivery room (um, for my hubby's sake, of course...). Oh and I kind of need to buy a new car in the next two weeks. I'll blog on that later.

Yummy fall goodness (click to enlarge):

In Defense of Everything That's Not Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Are you tired of my baby clothing posts yet? It is fairly safe to say that with the combination of my shopping, my nephew's hand me downs, and the generosity of friends at my baby shower, my yet to be born child officially has more clothes than I do. Trust me when I say that's a feat in and of itself. This is coming from someone who upon signing my marriage license, commandeered our entire master bedroom walk in closet and kicked my husband and his clothing out into other parts of the house. It's true, I have a ton of clothes. Somehow, however, my child is putting me to shame.

And while we're on the subject of boy clothes, let me just say I'm so darn sick of blue!! I get that a lot of parents of babies have to dress their children in gender-specific colors so people don't look at your sweet baby girl and blurt out, "What's HIS name?!" But seriously, there are colors beyond blue that can be masculine. How about brown? Or green? Or orange? Or dare I say....RED?

Part of me wants to write an open letter to the baby clothing makers with a subject line that reads: "Contrary to popular belief, most of your customers do NOT live in Compton, CA. It's okay to make clothing in the color RED."

I've literally refused to buy anything where blue is the primary color. I imagine with a girl, I'll feel the same way about pink. When it comes to shopping, I like a challenge. I've come to a few conclusions on the topic of baby boy clothes:

Girl clothes aren't necessarily better, just more readily available.
When the time comes and we are blessed with a little girl, shopping will be a cinch. Stores are filled with cute girl stuff. For the cute boy stuff, you gotta know where to look.
It takes mad skills to successfully accessorize a little boy without veering into the land of metrosexual.
For baby boys, I prefer to dress them like little men (in plaids and stripes and argyle and knits) vs. the cutesy baby boy look with monkeys and doggies and on farm animals printed on everything.
All other clothing lines need to be taking notes from Baby Gap.

Allow me to share a few recent additions to "Jethro's" closet (click pics to enlarge):

I may or may not have a small addiction to buying baby sweaters and corduroy jackets. I LOVE that we're having a fall baby.

This is a cute little brown fleece track suit from Carters with lime green top stitching. When it comes to reasonably priced and fashionable baby clothes, Carters often delivers. LOVE the brown and green combo.

The romper in the center is a knit from Old Navy. How cute is that? The outfit on the left is from Baby Gap, my other crack addiction. The brown fleece bear hoodie on the left is from Carters. I LOVE that the hoodie is lined in khaki and white striped material.

And one more for posterity:

One of our dear friends gave us this sweater at our shower because she thought it reminded her of my hubby. I swear he has this EXACT sweater. And I just about DIED when I saw the elbow patches. Cute overload!! You can pick up this sweater at H&M. I happened to be there this week and found a matching hat with little bear ears! I'm dying people. Literally, dying from the cuteness. And to think there's not even a real PERSON wearing these clothes yet.

I need prayer. I have issues. I'm having SO much fun dressing our little boy, I fear for what will happen when we have a girl.

In other news, one of the burp cloths I ordered from the Etsy seller "Laundry Monster" arrived and I AM IN LOVE. You don't even have to be a gang member to rock a red burp cloth!

Ordering about 5 more designs. She does FABULOUS work.

P.S. Did I mention I scored a Janie & Jack cashmere baby sweater last week for $2.99? Do babies need cashmere? Heck no. But for $2.99, why the heck NOT? I am the shopping master. Now, everyone kiss my ring...lol

Weekly Check-In: Week 36

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:44:00 +0000

I suck at doing these. So I think I may be able to convince my hubby to let me post pregnancy pictures AFTER the baby arrives. I had a maternity photo shoot last week and the pictures turned out GREAT. Here's a little teaser and I'm so glad I took wise advice and scheduled this. It will be nice to look back and have those photos as a keepsake. I would like to ensure the photographer gets her props and some publicity out of it all, so I will post a few pics after baby's here. Here is a little teaser I cropped but you can kinda see the top of my bump :-) (click to enlarge it)
How far along?: 36 weeks - as in 4 weeks left as in headed into the 9th month! HOLY CRAP!!

Total weight gain: 10lbs. I swear, I eat. Not sure what else I can do.

How big is baby?: Not sure. Probably gonna do a growth ultrasound next week just cuz I have gained so little weight. Baby is totally healthy though -- likely, I'm just ALL baby and no other weight.

Maternity clothes?: Some days. I still wear my regular jeans with a bella band (some without). I'm at the point where I refuse to buy ANY more maternity clothes so I deal with whatever's in my closet. In the words of Tim Gunn, "Make it work!"

Stretch marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: It's fine. But I'm SO ready to sleep on my stomach.

Best moment this week?: Freaking out about not feeling the baby for a good 90 minutes and then having him kick like a maniac.

Food cravings?: Nope. Food in general works for me.

Labor signs?: Nope, thank God. I need every week at this point to get the house ready for baby.

Belly button in or out?: Been out for a good 50% of the pregnancy.

What I miss: Going in public without having to answer a million and one questions about my pregnancy.

What I'm looking forward to: Painting and decorating for little "Jethro."

Weekly Wisdom: Babies don't need half the "junk" the baby industries try to sell us. As long as they have food, a place to sleep, diapers, and some clothing, they'll be just fine :-)

Milestone: We discussed our birthing plan at our most recent appointment. My husband is going to be quite hilarious in the delivery room, I can already tell.

Three Great Years

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:29:00 +0000

I meant to do this two weeks ago, but since I can't take full credit for conceiving this child, I thought it only right to brag on my awesome husband for a moment. In the words of um, somebody, "I love me some him!" He has been quite amazing all throughout this pregnancy. Now that we're nearing the end, it's so cool to reflect on yet another part of our journey together.

On September 1st we recently celebrated three years of marriage! I know, three years is piddly by comparison to those who are on year 10 and 25 and even 50! We plan on celebrating all those big anniversaries as well. And these days when marriages seem to be going by the wayside and people are treating marriage so flippantly, I like to relish in every year celebrated. Our wedding was by far one of the most fabulous days of my entire life. I look forward to the next most fabulous one: the birth of our firstborn child.

So happy belated anniversary to my bestest friend and most perfect companion in the world! I can't wait for this next phase of our journey together, parenthood. Should be a hoot.

Etsy, My Newest Crack Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:58:00 +0000

I have some more distractions from what I really should be doing. Never underestimate the resourcefulness of a procrastinator. I could teach a class in procrastination. Today I'd like to discuss my addiction to Etsy.

Unfortunately, when I was planning my wedding 4 years ago, I didn't know about this little site they like to call "Etsy." That was probably for the better. Etsy is a marketplace of crafts, handmade items, home wares, paper goods, and awesomeness that is so entirely addicting, I can't even stand it. It reminds me of how I feel when I walk into the store Anthropologie. Overwhelmed with the eclecticness of it all.

So one of my mior "peeves" in life is sameness. Maybe it's because I had to wear a uniform to school for five years of my life, I dunno. It's not necessarily that I HAVE to be different, but it's more that I don't usually have a strong affinity for things that are mainstream. As you can imagine, this is not a good personal characteristic to have in baby world - land of Babies'R'Us, Baby Depot, and Buy Buy Baby.

Etsy has sellers hocking some of the cutest and most creative baby swag! They have custom Boppy covers, personalized infant hats, swaddling and receiving blankets, all kinds of cute little clothes, booties, and everything you never knew you didn't need!

Right now I'm lovin' on the custom burp cloths produced by multiple Etsy sellers. They provide a fashionable twist on the plain, white burp cloth (of which I have as well). But I mean, who cares if it's going to covered in baby vomit and slobber; might as well do it fashionably, right? Um, right. Okay, whatever, but at least they're uber cheap and cute!

Here are a few of the burp cloths I purchased this week:Seller: BalaboostaBaby

Seller: laundrymonster

Seller: lilacslollipops

As you can see, I have a mild obsession right now with Michael Miller printed fabrics. For kids his fabrics are FABULOUS. If I was doing custom bedding, draperies or anything like that for kids, I'd totally check out his collection. A lot of Etsy sellers use his fabrics for their products.

I'm also diggin' on the knit items. Since we're having a Fall baby, and I expect this Winter in Seattle to be just as brutal as last year, I plan on styling our little man in some of these cute hats:

Seller: Beachwalkphoto

Side note: How cute are these newborn photos? We plan on doing those as well within the first 5-7 days of little man's life. More on that later. Also lovin' this cute mink swaddle blanket:

Seller: ColorMeCute

And this custom Boppy cover:
Seller: mollyannemake

As you can see, Etsy is a treasure trove. I have at least four more weeks of browsing and shopping time available to me before baby gets here. Not good. Then just think of all the cool purchases I can make AFTER baby gets here. Oh and their stuff for toddlers is adorable too.

They tried to make me go to rehab and I said, "No, no, no."

Birth Announcements

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:24:00 +0000

We are four weeks away from our due date and to distract myself from all the more important things I have to do, I being the expert procrastinator have found a new obsession for myself: birth announcements. Never mind the fact that the crib hasn't been set up, we've got painting to do oh and then there's the ever-elusive, yet-to-be finished kitchen back splash tiling project I took up in my nesting frenzy. For the first time in my life, I think I might need Ritalin.

I'm a huge fan of paper products and any and all occasions on which to send them. I love technology as much as the next person, but I think in our modern society paper products are becoming a lost art. These days when most people throw a party they send an evite. I am guilty of it myself. Still, I love heading to the mailbox and getting an old fashioned thank you note or wedding invitation or birth announcement.

When our little boy arrives I can't wait to have newborn pictures taken and send out announcements for his arrival. Currently I'm leaning towards the vendor Tinyprints.com who has great prices and super cute designs.

Here are a few I just love and adore. The nursery colors are sage, blue and brown so I've been favoring those colors for just about everything lately. The first one is the one I'm leaning towards but seriously, I love them all:

Swoon!

Boys and Girls, What is Wrong With This Picture?

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:42:00 +0000

I know one of the things new parents are advised to be aware of is not being too critical of other parents. I mean, really. It's easy to sit in judgement when someone else's kid is having a grocery store meltdown and think, "Man, that mom really needs to get her child in check." Because of course when we have our child in the grocery store, we have total and complete control all the time. Nothing will ever go wrong, right?

So forgive me for being critical, but there are two VERY big things wrong with the below picture of Britney Spears nearly three-year-old son, Jayden. Can you guess what they are?

You know what it is. And it's Pink.

Weekly Check-In: Week 32

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Here I go again with no belly picture. Let me see if I can sneak one in. Here is a pic of my husband and I on our last night on the Big Island, Hawaii taken a few weeks ago. Can you see the belly? Can you? No? Dang.How far along?: Almost 33 weeks

Total weight gain: 8-10lbs tops? Oh how this pleases me.

How big is baby?: 17-18" around 4.5 pounds, says the books.

Maternity clothes?: Only a few cropped pants/skirts. But I still wear my regular jeans with a bella band.

Stretch marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: A friggin' game of twister these days. Poor hubby.

Best moment this week?: Yesterday, when I realized that financially, I don't have to work for the rest of the year. Insane. And so very awesome. God is a good God.

Food cravings?: Nope. Food in general works for me.

Labor signs?: Braxton Hicks pretty much every day and contrary to the stupid books, they are NOT comfortable.

Belly button in or out?: Let's just say my belly button goes before me.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. After I drop this kid, I plopping down on my bed, face down and doing snow angels in my sheets.

What I'm looking forward to: Car shopping this weekend. Woot. Mama needs a new ride.

Weekly Wisdom: Pregnancy brings out the dumb dumbs. Understand that whatever comes out of their mouth should not be taken seriously or personal.

Milestone: We started our birthing class this week. That was pretty hilarious, and also emotional.

Third Trimester Home Stretch

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Okay so I fell a tad behind on this blog. I have good reason. I'm having a baby. The last month or so has been slightly hectic. We managed to fit in a "babymoon/vacation" to Hawaii, find a house we wanted to buy, subsequently change our minds on said house, and start car shopping. All in the first trimester.

I feel really great. This pregnancy has been extremely easy on me and so far, I think I'm down to do it again a few more times (ask me if I feel the same way after I push a kid through my bajingo...answer might be different).

I'm putting a list here of things I MUST write about in the very near future:

The Great Stroller Debacle
Weight Gain, or Not
Our trip to Hawaii
The new nursery theme
Maternity photos

Sorry for not being around. Much more coming and maybe even some belly shots in the future if I can twist my husband's arm enough. He is a stubborn man, but I love him dearly.

A Few More Purchases

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:17:00 +0000

I've been called by my mother to restraint in the area of baby clothes shopping. For the most part, I have been very disciplined. I have kept secret most of purchases but thought I'd share a few more of my favorites. It's tough to shop for fall/winter baby clothes right now because most stores are stocked with summer gear. In the city I live in, buying summer clothes is often a waste so I'm getting pretty stoked for all the stores to drop their Fall clothing lines.

Anyway, a few pics to share...

Fleece bear jacket from BabyGap. Notice the little ears! So cute!

Matching pants/shirt set from BabyStar. I'll probably use this for PJ's or separate them with solids as I think it's a bit matchy matchy.

Jumpsuits from Gymboree

Since we're having a fall baby, I am obsessed with cardigans and sweaters

Whale polo onesie. This will go well with the whale khakis I bought a few months ago.

Weekly Check-In: Week 25

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Hey guess what? This is no fun without pictures. You can thank my husband for that. So since I'm not allowed to upload pregnancy pictures, let's do some visualization. Imagine an extra large cantaloupe. Do you see it? It looks like I swallowed one of those.

It's not the same, I know. I'm feeling good. So far this pregnancy thing is a breeze. If only it didn't culminate in pushing a human being out of your bajingo. Then I'd say it was a piece of cake! But I know better than to gloat like that. God has a sense of humor about those things and he'd be liable to ensure my labor experience humbled me to my knees.

On with the updates!

How far along?: 25 weeks
Total weight gain: 2lbs. I swear I have no idea why I haven't gained more weight yet.
How big is baby?: 10-11" around 1.5 pounds, says the books.
Maternity clothes?: Nope.
Stretch marks?: Nope.
Sleep?: Quite perfect as of recently.

Best moment this week?: Finishing a REALLY big proposal write up I had to do for a client.
Movement?: The better question is when is he NOT moving.
Food cravings?: Nope. Food in general works for me.
Labor signs?: This is a dumb question at this stage in the game.
Belly button in or out?: Let's just say my belly button goes before me.
What I miss: Being able to bend over and buckle my sandals.
What I'm looking forward to: Transformers 2! Yeah!
Weekly Wisdom: If you are married, healthy, and breathing, there really is no perfect time to have baby. If you can get over this, you will be just fine.
Milestone: Made the first semi-big baby purchase. More on that later.

America, We Need to Have a Fireside Chat

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:02:00 +0000

I am in the middle of the hell of researching stroller options for our little "Jethro" -- a subject I will write about later at length because I am dubbing it "The Great Stroller Crisis of 2009." As part of my research, I am staring down every mother I see like a hawk, trying to scribble down the name of the stroller she's pushing. It has happened more than once. I see some well-meaning woman from behind, wielding a massive-stroller contraption and then as she turns the corner, I catch a glimpse of it. Is it her cute little munchkin, you ask? Why no silly mortal. It's not a human at all. It's...her DOG.

I'm talking about this:
and this:
and even more regrettably, this:
For the love of the Lord crying out in the night WHY do people think it is okay to push their dog around in a friggin' stroller? This is NOT okay, America. NOT okay. I understand that in America, we often treat our pets like our children and I was all on board with that. Heck, I call my dog Sophie my daughter sometimes (much to the chagrin of my husband who will only refer to her as, "dog") and as far as I'm concerned, I'll always be "Sophie's mommy," but pushing around your dog (who by the way was BORN with the ability to walk) in a stroller officially crosses the line.

These dog stroller pushing people are right up there on my list with the people who let their dogs lick their ice cream cones. I need for people to stop this behavior right this instant! President Obama, where are you? Can't you issue an executive order or something?

Rant over.

The Rubbing of the Belly

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:05:00 +0000

There are many things for which I was prepared during pregnancy -- hormones, lack of sleep, nesting, paranoia. There were even things I was prepared for that have yet to affect me -- morning sickness, foot swelling, weight gain. Remind me to write about that lack of weight gain thing later because that is an entirely separate doozy of post. All these things aside, there is one thing for which I was definitely NOT prepared -- belly touching. Not just belly touching -- belly rubbing, massaging, and groping.

It seems that for many in our culture, a pregnant woman becomes community property. As soon as it becomes evident to the world that you are pregnant (or even before then), suddenly the world around you sees you differently. Strangers on the street give you enigmatic pregnancy tips. People who you barely know suddenly want to discuss the details of your sex life with you.

"Were you guys trying to get pregnant?" "Were you preventing pregnancy?" "How long before you got pregnant?" "How many children do you plan on having?"

Whoa whoa whoa buddy. Do I even know you? Having to rattle off the answers to such questions was simply not something I'd planned on doing on a weekly basis. I've decided I can pretty much handle all the prying questions. I keep the information I give out to a minimum if I don't know people very well. But the absolute worst of the community property assumptions has nothing to do with words; it's the belly rubbing. OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN do I loathe the belly rubbing. I need the Lord's help to not go off on people.

So here's the thing. Color me picky, but I don't particularly like having random people who aren't my husband, mom, dad, siblings or extended family touching my stomach. Not ever. There has never been a time when that would make me comfortable so I'm having a hard time accepting that I should be comfortable with it now just because I'm pregnant. Not gonna happen.

Don't get me wrong. If my family, close friends and people I'm in relationship want to rub the belly, I will oblige and have no issues with it. It's kind of cute actually. But when people who I've barely had so much as a conversation with reach in to rub my like a genie in the bottle, something in me wants to karate chop their arm off. At least ask first. That way I can simply say in my most favorite Whitney Houston words, "HELL to the NO Bobby!"

This non-belly touching preference of mine comes in to play in particular when you are a member of a church. Anyone who has been a part of a church congregation knows that there is no such thing as privacy or private space on Sunday mornings. So every Sunday morning I pray to God that there will be no awkward encounters in which I have to sock a nice old lady for presumptuously massaging my womb.

Maybe I'm odd, but I would never in my life dream of rubbing another woman's pregnant belly without so much as asking her first. I don't even think I did that to my own sister when she was with child. So it's hard for me to understand the logic behind it all, but I think I've figured it out. Many people find pregnancy to be a miraculous and joyous occasion. Women in particular find a kindred unity in the experience of pregnancy. It is often a combination of these things that cause people to act on emotion and reach out and get a good rub on that belly holding a precious baby.

Yeah yeah....I get the sentimentality, but hands off buddy!

Weekly Check-in: Week 24

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Wanna hear something not so fun? My dear husband totally put the kabosh on me posting any pregnancy pictures of myself on the Internet. This is step one in the mega-security fortification that has begun in protecting the identity of our child. That, and I'm also married to a pyscho. But I love him and he keeps me normal so I will submit. We will all do the hallelujah dance if the man actually lets me post a single baby picture of our child once he's born. He is that serious. I have my charming ways though.

Okay...on to the weekly update. Like I said a few weeks ago, apparently pregnancy blog check-ins are all the rage, so like the follower that I am NOT, I'm doing them too.

How far along?: 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 2lbs. And apparently not enough according to my doctor. I'm sorry, I have no idea how to gain weight.

How big is baby?: 10-11" around 1.5 pounds, says the fancy books. The same books that told me I'd gain more weight by now!

Maternity clothes?: Not really. Maybe once a week I rock my maternity skirt. This maternity clothes stuff is overrated. My tune will be different in a month or so, I'm sure.

Stretch marks?: Nope. And none if I can help it thanks to my new Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter I scored.

Sleep?: I think I am starting to make my husband tired. He takes more naps than me now.

Best moment this week?: Finding out that someone actually wants to throw me a baby shower! Who knew? I seriously didn't think I'd have one since so many of my friends and family are now out of state.

Movement?: Tons. This kid is like doing Brian Boitano-style triple axels to Phantom of the Opera's "Music of the Night" in my womb. I am convinced.

Food cravings?: Cream of Wheat was my staple last week. I ate it for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. Again with the pregnancy reverting you to a kindergardener philosophy. I'm telling you, there's merit behind my philosophy.

Labor signs?: This is a dumb question at this stage in the game.

Belly button in or out?: All the way out and in need of a bandaid or a pastie or something.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

What I'm looking forward to: Getting our home ready for a renter. I'm on a mission

Weekly Wisdom: Just because someone tries to touch your belly, doesn't mean you have to let them do it. Seriously, someone had to tell me this because I was being too nice.

Milestone: Being able to say I'm "six months pregnant" for all the people who are weekly counting inept (like I was pre-pregnancy). Normal people can't compute what "24 weeks pregnant" means. Now I say "6 months" and it's like divine revelation comes upon them.

Our Nonexistent Nursery

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:12:00 +0000

Deciding on what we want little Jethro's nursery to look like has been a slight challenge. For me the challenge can be summed up in four simple words: too much daggone blue! I suspect if we were having a little girl, my frustration would be the same except instead of blue frustration, it'd be pink. Don't get me wrong, blue and pink are lovely colors. I just happen to be slightly rebellious when it comes to being forced into something traditional. Quite frankly, I find blue for boys a bit overdone. No offense against the blue brigade. My husband is a lifelong devotee to blue so trust me when I say I understand how offensive it is for me to say I'm sick of blue. I'm also sick of stereotypical pink for girls. My plan for a girl nursery was actually to do Tiffany blue as the base color. Because I like to say "suck it" to tradition!

For a boy nursery though, I was a bit undecided. Initially I was going to go for the whitewashed beige-y theme as seen here:
I still LOVE this look for a nursery, but it's not masculine enough for this particular boy we currently call "Jethro." This is probably the look I'd go for if we were waiting to find out the sex. However, KNOWING that he's a boy and having already picked out his name sort of makes it different for me. The more I get to know this little fella in my belly, stabbing and punching me, the more I am convinced he is going to come out riding a horse and waving a machete. And I am so not about to bring my little Braveheart-wannabe into the world to sleep in a room with a crystal chandelier -- however fabulous it may be. And thus I've decided on the earth tone-y palette of moss green, chocolate brown, taupe, cranberry, and burnt orange. As seen here:
I am in LOVE with this color palette. My favorite thing about it? Any blue present is totally an after thought. Hooray for blue as an AFTERTHOUGHT. Now if only the baby clothing industry would take a hint. Enough of the blue baby clothes! Our boy is going to be one with his earthtones.

Another room that's serving as an inspiration not so much for its color palette (cuz it's blue), but for the clever use of chocolate brown and space is this "Alphabet" themed room. We won't be doing an alphabet theme, or any theme for that matter, but I do love the wall mural and the use of space here.

I've also found a crib I love which is actually the same crib seen in the earth-tone room above. I never thought I'd opt for a two-tone crib, but I love the classic appeal of this cherrywood/antique white 3-in-1 convertible crib. I think it will go well with the color scheme we're planning. I think we'll also spring for the matching dresser and other furniture.
Now...all we need is a house. Fabulous.

Amazing Nursery: Little Crown Interiors

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:16:00 +0000

I am not having a girl, but I came across a nursery today that is to die for. Totally my style and just plain-frickin'-fabulous. Even if you have a much smaller nursery budget, you can take some ideas from this room and tweak them for yourself. It was done by a company whose work I've fallen head over heels for: Little Crown Interiors. The couple who commissioned the work wanted the ceiling to reflect the lobby of the famous Wynn Hotel. Looks like a potential pain to clean and a magnet for dust, but I think I am in love! Also, I am narrowing in on what I think I was our little "Jethro's" nursery is going to look like. I've found the crib and accompanying furniture. So exciting! I'll have pictures in a bit.

Weekly Check-In: Week 23

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Siditty) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Oops I missed a week! Ah well. Please excuse the dirty bathroom mirror and no makeup. I'm sporting my curly hair look and I'd just woken up from my nap! (Who knew pregnancy would revert you to being like a big Kindergartner? Naps! Snack time! Crying! Whining!)

How far along?: 23 weeks
Total weight gain: 2lbs. Whoo hoo! Weight gain!
How big is baby?: 11" and little over a pound apparently around the size of a mango. Mmm yummy. But I don't eat babies. I promise.
Maternity clothes?: Not really. The weather's been hot here so it's all dresses.
Stretch marks?: Nope.
Sleep?: Harder and harder to come by especially since it's been so hot and one of the marks of the Pacific Northwest is we don't have air-conditioned homes. BRUTAL!

Best moment this week?: Jethro* decided to curl up in a ball in the lower right part of my uterus. Please note this was also the WORST moment this week. Pain man! But it was so cute to see my stomach all contorted and him cuddled up over there. *Please note, we do have a name for our son picked out, but won't be revealing it until the birth so henceforth, he shall be called "Jethro."
Movement?: Too much, dangit.
Food cravings?: I consumed 19 Otter Pops (popsicles) in one sitting. Today, I'm goin' for 30. I must be stopped.
Labor signs?: No way. Too early.
Belly button in or out?: Officially out and it's totally crampin' my style. I need a pasty for my belly button to smooth it out under my clothes. Do those exist?
What I miss: Sound sleep.
What I'm looking forward to: Securing a major contract for my company.
Weekly Wisdom: Juicy Couture Terry Cloth cropped/gaucho pants are my new best friend. I want to be buried in terry cloth now.
Milestone: Does being annoyed by all of Jethro's movements count?